in the center of the British line, shoved past just
under the stern of Villaret's flagship, the _Montagne_, raking
her with a terrible broadside which is said to have struck down
300 of her men. As was likely to result from the plan of attack,
the ships in the van of the attacking force were more closely and
promptly engaged than those of the rear; only six ships actually
broke through, but there was hot fighting all along the line.

Famous among the struggles in the melee was the epic three-hour
combat of the _Brunswick_, next astern of Howe, and the _Vengeur_,
both 74's. With the British vessel's anchors hooked in her opponent's
port forechannels, the two drifted away to leeward, the _Brunswick_
by virtue of flexible rammers alone able to use her lower deck guns,
which were given alternately extreme elevation and depression and
sent shot tearing through the _Vengeur's_ deck and hull; whereas
the _Vengeur_, with a superior fire of carronades and musketry,
swept the enemy's upper deck. When the antagonists wrenched apart,
the _Brunswick_ had lost 158 of her complement of 600 men. The
_Vengeur_ was slowly sinking and went down at 6 P. M., with a loss
of 250 killed and wounded and 100 more drowned. "As we drew away,"
wrote a survivor, "we heard some of our comrades still offering
prayers for the welfare of their country; the last cries of these
unfortunates were, 'Vive la Republique!' They died uttering them."

Out of the confusion, an hour after the battle had begun, Villaret
was able to form a column of 16 ships to leeward, and though ten of
his vessels lay helpless between the lines, three drifted or were
towed down to him and escaped. Howe has been sharply criticized
for letting these cripples get away; but the battered condition
of his fleet and his own complete physical exhaustion led him to
rest content with six prizes aside from the sunken _Vengeur_. The
criticism has also been made that he should have further exerted
himself to secure a junction with the detachment on convoy duty,
which on May 19 was returning and not far away. If he had at that
time held his 32 ships between Brest and Rochefort, with scouts
well distributed to westward, he would have been much more certain
to intercept both Villaret's fleet and the convoy, which would have
approached in company, and both of which, with the British searching
in a body at sea, stood a good chance of escape. Howe's hope, no
doubt, was to meet the convoy unguarde